Kira Steger case: Trevino seeks delay to murder trial

The attorney for murder suspect Jeffery Trevino has asked the court for a continuance of his trial date.

John Conard said in a motion submitted to the court Friday that the defense needed more time to investigate issues raised by the final autopsy report on Trevino's wife, Kira Steger, disclosed June 21.

He also raised questions about information from police reports regarding Steger's cellphone.

The phone was "powered on, and functional, giving a GPS signal somewhere in Brooklyn Center" on March 22, Conard wrote. Steger's account was not active at the time.

The prosecution told Conard that a person who possessed the phone has been identified and that it had been sold, he said.

In addition, a Voxer message, a type of multimedia message, was sent from Steger's phone "and received by a credible witness on Feb. 25," three days after Steger's car was abandoned at the Mall of America, Conard's motion said.

He declined to elaborate on who that "credible witness" was.

The phone has not been recovered.

Trevino, 39, of St. Paul was charged with killing Steger after she disappeared and blood was found in their home and her car. Steger, 30, was last heard from Feb. 21. Her body was found in the Mississippi River in May.

Trevino is due to appear in Ramsey County court Monday morning. The trial date is July 22.